Colorful knitted mittens, homemade treats and handmade jewelry lined tables for the Summit Avenue Artisan Festival, inside of the St. Paul United Church of Christ on Dec. 1.

For more than six years, the festival has been selling handcrafted jewelry, pottery and homemade turkey pot pies. In fact—last year they sold out of 800 pies.

There was also a silent auction and soup tasting contest. Samples of Roasted Winter Squash and Apple Puree soup were available to festival-goers.

Over 40 local artists and artisans were showcased at the festival. There were handmade pun-filled cards, tiny canvas paintings and soy candles made by a mother-daughter duo. The vendors took over the church for the day, setting up tables in the lobby, hallways and Great Hall. It was a warm escape before the Saturday snowstorm.

Also in attendance at the Artisan Festival was an occasional Hamline professor—David R. Weiss.

Weiss explained that he very rarely teaches religion at Hamline. He was there selling his crowd-funded, self-published and award-winning children’s book, “When God Was a Little Girl.” Weiss shared that one of his old students painted the illustrations, which took her eight years to do.

Although this event was Saturday only, if you are looking for more holiday markets check out the St. Paul European Christmas Market at the Union Depot on Saturday, Dec. 8 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m or the Holiday Bake Sale inside of the Union Depot that same day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A simple Facebook search will also yield more Christmas cheer all around the Twin Cities. Many local breweries have been having pop-up holiday markets, and there are still ones happening next weekend.

Also close to campus, and running until Jan. 6, is the Holiday Flower Show at the Como Converservatory. Como’s flower show has been running since 1925, and is their most visited attraction as stated by the Conversatory. This year’s theme is Victorian, with floras such as red poinsettias and scented geraniums.

As soon as you step into the Sunken Garden, you can smell the carefully-curated flowers and plants. The bright red poinsettias were the most popular attraction out of all of the conversatory rooms. It is a great spot for taking family photos, couple pictures or just admiring the lively plant life.

Continuing along the path in the Sunken Garden, it is easy to stop and marvel at Tim Gorman’s work, who sat creating a still-life of the poinsettias with his pastels. Coming to sit in here, whether you are an artist or not, brings colorful inspiration especially when the rest of the world is white with snow.

Como is free to the public, so come enjoy a snowy day within the safety of the glass conservatory free from the cold of Minnesota winters. Whether you are looking for events near campus, in St. Paul broadly or even the Twin Cities as a whole, there is an endless supply of holiday spirit, local goods and wholesome winter activities to discover.